Huang Rui is one of China’s most highly regarded artists and was one of the main protagonists of the first non-conformist art groups in 1979 China. A leader of the Stars Group (Xing Xing) art exhibition, he was pivotal in the art movement that initiated some of the first free art expressions in the Post-Mao era bringing together like-minded artists such as Wang Keping and Ma Desheng. As a seminal figure of the Dashanzi Factory 798 Art District, Huang Rui has sought to express art’s function as a reflection of society and its strength in addressing contemporary concerns.

Comerchina

Huang Rui

Designed by Huang Rui & Cheng Yan .

Huang Rui brings a series of new paintings and installations that are themed on “Comerchina”, a modern word coined by combining commercialization and China. The artist reflects deeply on the notions of China’s obsession with materialism and its striving for money far exceeding that for intellectual prowess. Comerchina uses the symbols of money, adverts and the touch pad of our mobile phones to create a highly stylized group of paintings that reflect the energy and superficiality of China’s current subconscious.Huang Rui is one of China’s most highly regarded artists, a founding member of the Stars Group of 1979 and a seminal figure of the Dashanzi Factory 798 Art District. Since co-organizing China’s first public art exhibition in Beijing in 1979, Huang Rui has sought to express art’s function as a reflection of society and its strength in addressing contemporary concerns. Huang Rui was recently named by Beijing TV as one of the 300 most influential people in China since 1949.

Huang Rui – The Stars’ Times 1977-1984

Thinking Hands and Guanyi Contemporary Art Archive

30 Nov 2006

Designed by Huang Rui and Zhao Hongyang.

Huang Rui is a Beijing artist that has been both famous and active in the Chinese contemporary art scene for the last 27 years. He is one of the leaders of the famous "STARS EXHIBITION" where in 1979 thirty some protestors demanding artistic freedom opened the doors for the entire contemporary art emergence that is exploding in China today. He is also the backbone behind Beijing's Daishanzi Factory 798 Art District.

Huang Rui is one of the most challenging artists of China, who has never stopped claiming his strong independence from any kind of system, be it artistic or political. This book documents his early works and the stories during the Stars period, and records the conversations of Huang Rui with influential figures in Chinese contemporary art including Gao Minglu, Britta Erickson and Feng Boyi. Other contributors include Michael Sullivan, Geremie Barmé, Chiba Shigeo, Li Xianting. Also included are valuable every day images and media coverages from the Stars period.